A Case of You
by SpriteArielWhatever
Summary: Veronica Mars, FBI Agent, returns to Neptune to solve a case and encounters some old friends. LoVe (eventually).
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I haven't written fan fiction in a while, so I'm feeling a little rusty. I wanted to read a LoVe story set in the world of the season 4 mini-pilot/pitch trailer Rob Thomas made for the CW. This is the story I wanted to read, so I'm writing it for myself. I hope other people like it too. Feel free to give me feedback. I'm writing this on my breaks, so it's not always as smooth or error free as I would like, but I'll edit as I notice errors or have them pointed out to me. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Rob Thomas and Warner Bros. retain all rights, but I'm a proud Kickstarter of the movie. Woo!**

Agent Hendrix stood at the front of the room, breaking down new tasks. Veronica was still waiting for her coffee to take effect, needing it more than usual after a string of sleepless nights due to a stakeout earlier in the week.

The word "Neptune" startled her into full alertness. Agent Hendrix flashed up a slide of the River Stix, and Veronica leaned forward in her seat.

"The local law enforcement has been working on a case against a crime syndicate in Neptune, which is about an hour south of here, for those of you as yet unfamiliar with the geography of Southern California.

"Due to some extensive drug transportation across both state lines and the US-Mexico border, we're getting called in to represent the Feds. We will be working with the ATF and DEA as well."

A few groans were heard throughout the auditorium. Veronica was very familiar with the territorial tendencies of law enforcement, and didn't make a sound.

Agent Hendrix ignored the groans and continued, "We'd like to plant an undercover agent. Seth?"

Seth nodded his assent, and Veronica's hand shot up.

"Special Agent Mars?"

"That's not going to work," Veronica offered.

"And why is that?" Hendrix asked.

"The Fitzpatricks are a family. Literally. 12 criminals and 1 priest, unless they've added to their number or died. They won't accept an outsider."

"How did—" He trailed off momentarily before changing the course of his comment, "You're the agent from Neptune. All right Mars, you're on this team. You can help figure out a cover that will actually work to get Seth into the Fitzpatrick organization."

Seth shot Veronica a look, but she stared straight ahead, trying to sort out her feelings about this unexpected homecoming. The Sheriff would certainly be glad to see her, she thought.

"Any other volunteers for this task force?" Agent Hendrix asked.

Both Callie Farmer & Carter raised their hands and Agent Hendrix pointed at a few other agents.

"Prepare to leave for Neptune this afternoon. You have a meeting with the rest of the task force at the sheriff's department this evening at five."

Veronica couldn't stop a small smile from expanding across her face. Her father would be happy to have her home, and she couldn't wait to see him.

*-*-*-X-*-*-*

Veronica drove down to Neptune with Callie, Carter, and Olsen, one of the agents Hendrix has assigned. She was glad she didn't have to share a car with Seth. It was still uncomfortable between them, although he wasn't intentionally excluding her from events the same way he had the first few weeks of their posting.

She wished that she was returning home for a vacation instead of work. Having her own car and getting to stay with her dad and his still fairly-new wife would have been ideal, but being with her team was important, so she'd be enjoying one of Neptune's many fine hotels. Or motels, most likely, since the Bureau didn't usually spring for places like the Neptune Grand. They ended up in places like the Camelot. She was willing to bet they _actually_ would be staying at the Camelot.

She remembered a DEA undercover agent staying there when she was in high school. She also remembered a lot of stakeouts at the Camelot. More powerful than any of those memories, she remembered it was where she and Logan had their first kiss. The Camelot would never fail to remind her of him and that surprising kiss.

Veronica pushed that thought away. It had been three years since she'd seen him. As far as she knew, he hasn't been home to Neptune in that time. Dwelling on him would only make this assignment harder.

Returning home for work was strange. Neptune was where she got her start, but she hasn't expected it to be a part of her life in the FBI. Knowing Neptune, there would be more to this case than she expected. She was a Mars though, and for them, Neptune was home.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I promised LoVe, eventually. We're getting closer, but I don't want to force him into the story sooner than makes sense. He's coming soon, I promise. **

Veronica sighed as they entered Neptune. The sight of her hometown made her realize that she actually missed the place.

Olsen announced from the driver's seat, "We don't have time to check in to our motel before the meeting, I'm taking us straight to the sheriff station."

Veronica's stomach clenched a little in anticipation. This was her first trip to the Sheriff's office as a law enforcement official, as an equal. She'd been there many times as a suspect, as a thorn in the late Sheriff Lamb's side and even visiting her father, but never like this.

"You grew up here?" Carter asked, breaking into Veronica's thoughts.

"Yes I did." They drove past the Hut and she pointed toward it. "That's where I did my traditional high school student evening and weekend servitude."

No one asked more and Veronica was glad to have the natural curiosity of her fellow investigators not turned toward her and her youth in Neptune.

Olsen pulled into a spot in front of the sheriff station, and the FBI agents disembarked. Veronica walked sedately, trying not to rush into the station in her excitement. The rest of their team arrived while they were still entering the building and Veronica entered ahead of them, not wanting to get stuck with Seth in the entrance.

The sheriff wasn't waiting inside for them, but Inga was at the front desk. She hadn't yet noticed Veronica's entrance and was giving instructions to Carter.

"The Sheriff is in the conference room with the DEA agents. If you'd like to join them, the briefing will start soon."

Inga looked past Carter to the other agents and spotted Veronica.

"Veronica! Your father didn't tell me you were coming!" Inga proclaimed, as Veronica approached the desk.

"He doesn't know yet," Veronica explained, smoothing her suit as she tried to look as professional as she could while Inga proclaimed over her and talked about her father.

"Oh, what a nice surprise," Inga said, lowering her voice.

The rest of her team filed past, Callie and Seth paying close attention to Veronica and Inga's conversation.

"It is for me," Veronica said as she followed her team to the conference room. "Good to see you," she called over her shoulder.

The sheriff was standing just inside the door, shaking hands with the agents as they entered.

"Sheriff Mars," he said, introducing himself to Carter, the first to enter the room.

"Mars?" Carter asked, casting a look back at Veronica.

"Like the planet," Keith replied.

"Agent Carter," Carter said before moving further into the room.

Keith repeated this with Olsen and Thomas, the other agent assigned by Hendrix, before he caught sight of Veronica and a grin spread across his face. Both Keith and Veronica waited patiently for the other agents to enter and be greeted.

"Agent Mars," Keith said proudly.

"Sheriff Mars," Veronica replied with pride in her voice too.

She leaned in and whispered. "No hugs Dad, otherwise the other kids won't think I'm the toughest one here."

"Marshmallow Mars, isn't that what they call you?" he replied just as quietly. "You didn't tell me you were working this case," he admonished.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she explained. "Surprise!"

The other FBI agents were making introductions with the DEA team, but some of Veronica's teammates kept casting looks at her and her father.

"And what a wonderful surprise. Dinner soon?" Keith asked.

"Yes please," Veronica replied. "Probably not tonight, though. We haven't checked into our motel yet and I'm sure we'll have lots to do tonight."

"You could stay with us honey, there's room," Keith offered.

"If I weren't here for work, I would. I think I need to be with my team."

The sound of voices and feet approaching the room signaled the arrival of the ATF agents, so Veronica made her way over to the DEA agents and made her introductions.

"Sheriff Mars? Any relation?" Seth asked from just over Veronica's shoulder.

Veronica turned. "Can't you tell? We have the same jaw line, the same charm, the same quick thinking on our feet and investigative genius." She nodded in Keith's direction, "I'm a chip off the old block."

Keith made his way to the front of the room and the federal agents all took seats.

"I'm glad to have you all here to help us with our Fitzpatrick problem. They've been running drugs in Neptune for years now, and I was able to secure cases against several members of the family, but we believe that there is a bigger syndicate operating, most likely using the Fitzpatricks as middlemen. Unfortunately, the Balboa County Sheriff's Department doesn't have the manpower to bring down the Fitzpatricks and whoever they're working with on our own. That's why you are all here.

"I've prepared briefing packets for all of you, and you'll find information on previous arrests, as well as our current surveillance and evidence against them.

"Conveniently, most of their crimes will be prosecuted at the federal level, allowing us to call you in and have the trials held outside of their power base here."

Deputy Sacks entered the room with the packets and began passing them out. He paused at Veronica and smiled.

"Good to see you too, Deputy," Veronica whispered, taking a packet from him.

"I'd like to open this up to your questions," Keith announced.

Seth stood. "Field Director Hendrix has asked me to go undercover to infiltrate the Fitzpatricks."

"That's not a great idea, as you'll see from your packet," Keith replied. "The Fitzpatricks almost solely employ family. They've been known to use outsiders, but usually ones with whom they are already familiar."

Veronica tried to tamp down the smirk she was sure was on her face. Being proven right was one of her favorite feelings.

An ATF agent stood. "We'd like to send someone in undercover as well."

A DEA agent stood too. "As would we."

"I know I'm outranked here," Keith began, "but I think one undercover agent is more than enough in such a tenuous situation and Agent…"

"Morris," Seth offered.

"Agent Morris offered first, so I'm inclined to use him since he looks like he can pass as an Irish criminal, as long as we can construct a convincing story. We may need agents to pose as buyers as well."

*-*-*-X-*-*-*

The Q and A went on for several hours, educating Veronica on the affairs of the Fitzpatricks since the last time she had tangled with them a few years earlier. They were busy little angry brawlers, and it seemed they got in over their heads, which was only good in that it was going to make it possible for her dad to finally shut down their operation. All with a little help from Sheriff Mars favorite sidekick, Veronica and her new teammates.

The agents stopped at a drive through on their way to their motel. It had been a Woody's Burger when Veronica was growing up, but the Widow Goodman had sold most of the chain, and it was now a Carl's Jr. Veronica was glad about the change, she hadn't been able to stomach the thought of Woody, let alone his food, since she found out about his secrets her senior year of high school.

Olsen drove their car a familiar route, terminating in the parking lot of the Camelot. _If I'd only found someone to take that bet, I'd be twenty dollars richer_, Veronica thought.

Her gaze automatically pulled up to the second story walkway that still haunted her and she froze, unable to unbuckle or open the car door until she banished thoughts of Logan Echolls.


	3. Chapter 3

Veronica stepped out of the car, leaving the nostalgia behind in the seat she had vacated. The Camelot hasn't changed much, but for the foreseeable future it would hold fewer cheating spouses and far more federal agents than usual.

She pulled her suitcase out of the trunk and stretched her back. The hours in the car and at the sheriff station had made her stiff. Seth beckoned to her from the group clustered outside of the motel's office. Agent Thomas was inside checking them in and getting room assignments.

Veronica heard another vehicle pull in to a spot behind her. It was a black Escalade like she'd seen the DEA agents use at the station. Getting out of the way of the wave of agents arriving at the motel seemed like a good plan, so she decided to join her fellow agents. Veronica had just grabbed the handle of her bag when a familiar voice called her name.

"Veronica Mars, as I live and breathe."

Veronica froze. It was a voice she knew as well as her own. A voice as likely to make her laugh as to make her cry or want to punch a wall.

"Logan Echolls," she replied, her mind racing for a witty rejoinder as she turned to face him.

Logan slid out of the Escalade and leaned against it.

"What are you doing here?" Veronica asked, her quick mind slowed by the sight of Logan in the flesh. He looked older than she remembered. She had a secret weakness for watching her old videos of him when she missed him too much. The man before her wasn't the fifteen year-old who laughed with her, Lilly and Duncan. Nor was he the twenty year-old she'd last seen. This Logan was a handsome stranger who still held her heart.

"I could ask you the same thing, Special Agent," Logan answered, already irritating Veronica with his refusal to answer her questions. _Just like old times_, Veronica thought.

"No 'Nice to see you Logan,' just straight into questioning. Why am I not surprised?" he continued.

Veronica took an involuntary step toward him.

Logan smiled and said, "I missed this. You and me, butting heads."

Veronica laughed. "That's not how I imagined our reunion, but I can't say I'm surprised."

Logan pushed off the side of his car and came toward her, arms open wide. Veronica stepped into them and he hugged her close. She let herself enjoy the feel of his arms around her and the smell that was uniquely Logan's overwhelm her. Her stomach swooped in a way it hadn't since, oh, the end of her freshman year of college. It felt like home, and she reveled in it for a moment before the memories of all the hurt that had transpired between them brought her back to reality. It had been three years without contact between them and a very tense year prior to that before Logan left Hearst. The pleasure at seeing him again and her natural reaction to him couldn't just erase all of their history.

Veronica sighed and drew in one last heavy breath redolent with Logan's scent before stepping back to look at him.

"I'm sorry I can't just turn off the part of my brain that has to know, Logan. What are you doing here?"

*-*-*-X-*-*-*

Logan looked down at Veronica, glad to know that some things never changed. Under the boring, professional pantsuit, Veronica Mars was still the same suspicious girl she'd been since high school.

The same girl he loved then, and loved still. The feel of her in his arms, her hair against his cheek, her smell almost exactly the same but with just enough difference to remind him time had passed. He couldn't tell if that was the faultiness of memory or a change in her shampoo that caused the difference. Whatever it was, it made him want to memorize everything about her all over again, which told him that all their time apart still hadn't drained her from his system.

"I'm surprised you don't already know. You mean to tell me that you don't have some sort of alert on me, notifying you of all my movements?" Logan teased.

Veronica looked at the ground for a moment before meeting Logan's eyes with a directness he didn't get from many people.

"After keeping tabs on you helped to tear us apart, I promised myself I wouldn't do that anymore. I needed to prove to myself that I could trust you, even if you didn't know."

Logan was taken aback. He'd counted on Veronica keeping up with him, especially once he left Neptune.

"Really?" he asked, his surprise robbing him of a better response.

"Really. Despite evidence to the contrary, even I can change," Veronica replied.

His voice dropped, "And do you believe that I can change?" An unexpected lump formed in his throat.

"I do Logan, I really do."

"Veronica!" a voice called from across the parking lot. Logan glanced over to see a guy who looked about the same age as him waving at Veronica. Something about the agent put Logan's teeth on edge. It was the instinctive response he had toward all men who seemed like they might be interested in Veronica. His fist clenched briefly at his side.

"Gotta go?" Logan asked.

Veronica looked over at her colleagues and nodded, then flashed a hand at them.

"I should," she admitted.

"Can I see you while we're both here?" Logan asked.

"Yes. We have a lot to talk about." Veronica paused and added, "And I missed you."

"My number hasn't changed. Do you still have it?" Logan asked.

Veronica smiled. "Not everything has changed."

She took the handle of her suitcase again and wheeled it across the parking lot to the knot of agents clustered together receiving keys and room assignments.

Watching her go was an altogether too familiar sight, but this time he had hope, not heartbreak, as he watched her.

*-*-*-X-*-*-*

"Another surprise, sheriff's daughter?" Seth asked when Veronica joined the group.

"An old friend," Veronica explained, unwilling to share more with her former fling and current competitor.

"Was that Logan Echolls?" Callie asked, sounding a little impressed, which was out of character for her in Veronica's experience.

"'Spoiled son of a suicidal starlet and murderous movie star,' isn't that how the Tinseltown Diaries described him?" Seth added.

"Don't believe everything you see on TV," Veronica admonished before walking toward the room she had been assigned.

**A/N: And Logan is back on the scene! I hope everyone else was as happy to see him as I was to finally bring him into the story. **


	4. Chapter 4

As Veronica walked toward her room, she named the doors she passed. She had spent a lot of nights parked outside this motel taking photos, and all those nights gave her a unique perspective on so many of the rooms here.

_Mr. Shackleton and his mistress._

_Mom and Jake Kane_. She winced a little at that memory, but years without her mother had formed a callous over that ache.

_Mrs. Fulton and her tennis coach_.

Veronica held her breath as she walked through the walkway where she and Logan had first kissed, before stopping at Room 227, her assigned room. _ATF Agent Ben_, she thought as she entered the room. _Just my luck_.

*-*-*-X-*-*-*

Veronica got out of bed tired the next morning. She had trouble sleeping, her brain unable to stop working. It conjured up images of Logan as he was now, engaging in the activities they once shared.

The last time she lost sleep over Logan was when they broke up after he and Madison Sinclair hooked up. These were better dreams keeping her awake, but she didn't want to lose sleep because of him, regardless of the contents of the dreams.

After a quick shower, Veronica got dressed and left to meet her team over whatever the Camelot served as their "continental" breakfast.

When she entered the room, Veronica noticed that Seth and Callie were missing. Grabbing coffee and an apple from the meager offerings, Veronica sat down with the other FBI agents present.

"Morning," Agent Olsen said between sips of his coffee.

"Morning," Veronica replied, then asked, "Are we waiting for Seth and Callie? I'd like to get back to the sheriff's station and get plans moving forward."

"Seth and Callie already left for the station. Seems like you're not the only one eager to get a jump on this case," Carter explained.

"I'm ready to go," Agent Thomas offered. Carter and Olsen nodded, and Veronica pushed back from the table.

The four agents walked to their vehicle, Veronica and Olsen still sipping their coffees. Once seated, Veronica pulled out her phone and sent her dad a text that read, "Doughnut needed. You have 5 minutes."

Satisfied that there was a dose of sugar coming her way, Veronica focused on the details of the case for the short journey to the sheriff's station.

There was no way Veronica could do any undercover work. She was too well-known by the Fitzpatricks for her teenage entanglements with them and her father's work. Unless, Veronica thought, Molly Fitzpatrick had decided to leave her family behind after what they did to Felix.

Tracking down Molly moved to the top of Veronica's to do list as the car entered the parking lot.

Walking into the station, Veronica was greeted by a smiling Deputy D'Amato holding a white paper bag out to her.

"Leo, I'd say you shouldn't have, but I asked for this. Tell my dad he shouldn't have made you do this for me," Veronica teased as she took her requested doughnut.

Leo smiled. "Nice to have you working with us Veronica. Makes coming back to the sheriff's department all worthwhile. Try not to pull rank over me too much."

"These are some of the other Feds working on this: Agents Thimas, Olsen and Carter," Veronica said by way of introduction. "Agents, Deputy D'Amato."

The men shook hands and Leo announced, "Everyone's gathering in the conference room again. A couple other FBI agents are in interrogation with some files."

"Veronica, you clearly know your way around better than us. Can you grab Seth and Callie?" Carter asked.

Mouth full of doughnut, Veronica nodded and walked toward a room she'd been questioned in frequently enough to lose count.

She could hear Seth's voice as she approached. They'd left the door open and they could be heard by anyone close to the room. Veronica paused outside the room to take another bite and heard Seth clearly.

"This one is great. How dumb do you have to be to bash in a police car? And it says that once arrested he started a fight with the other perps in the lockup."

Callie laughed at that. Veronica swallowed and stepped into the room.

"Who did that?" she asked as she entered. Her fellow agents looked up at her in surprise, papers spread out before them in the table.

"Your 'old friend' Logan Echolls," Seth said, smirking.

"When?" Veronica asked, surprised she didn't know about this. It must have been after they broke up, she reasoned. She would have known if it happened during their tumultuous relationship. _Maybe not everything changes_, she thought.

Seth looked down at the report and read off, "December 11, 2006." The wheels began to turn in Veronica's mind. _Winter of freshman year; one of our "off" periods_, she recalled.

"Does it name the guys he fought with?" she asked.

"Yeah, Mercer Hayes and Moe Flater."

Veronica held down her surprise and put as much disinterest as she could in her voice as she said, "Fascinating. Glad you're using the might of your role here to look up people with no connection to the Fitzpatricks. You might remember them as the reason we're all here and waiting in the conference room."

She left Callie and Seth to collect herself and join everyone else in the conference room. The bite of doughnut she took stuck in her mouth as she realized what Logan had done for her. She knew him well enough to know it was for him too. He had an urge to protect and defend her that could get out of control, witness the beginning of the end of her short-lived romance with Piz. Logan was always willing to brawl if he thought it would help Veronica.

Once in the conference room, Veronica slid into a seat without speaking to her dad. He gave her a questioning look that she returned with a weak smile, knowing that he would have questions for her. Maybe this was the right night to have dinner with him. Her dad usually gave her a good perspective, although his thoughts where Logan was concerned were a little biased.

*-*-*-X-*-*-*

This briefing was shorter and the brainstorming much longer. Veronica wasn't ready yet to share her plans to visit with Molly Fitzpatrick with the group. Too many years of solo investigation still made it hard for her to work with a team.

The drugs the sheriff's department were confiscating from busts had the same chemical makeup as drugs from other cities along the Pacific Coast as far north as Vancouver, according to the DEA's intelligence. The Fitzpatricks were too small-time to be distributing over that distance, but they seemed to hold a vital place in the process.

Those shipments, primarily of cocaine, were found in Neptune earliest. Keith had surmised that the Fitzpatricks were an initial receiver, and the federal agencies agreed. Taking down the Fitzpatricks would both allow them to find the originator of the drug supply and halt its flow outward.

Putting someone in with the Fitzpatricks directly was still out of the question, but undercover solutions had been found. The DEA and ATF agents who had volunteered for undercover work were being put into place at the nearest ports, as that seemed the most likely point of entry.

Seth would begin his undercover work by heading to the River Stix to drink and make as many acquaintances as possible. This approach seemed like it was both dangerous and slow to become fruitful, both Mars thought, but it was the most direct path for an outsider to take.

After the session was over, Veronica's prediction was proved correct. Her father invited her over for dinner that night, and she accepted, informing her colleagues that she would see them later that night for her shift staking out the River Stix.

*-*-*-X-*-*-*

Once in Keith's car, Veronica laughed and asked, "So, Sheriff, how does it feel to have your daughter have jurisdiction over you?"

"That's only in the office. Here in the car and at home, you know who outranks you. Who's your daddy?" he teased.

Veronica groaned. "I thought you were over that."

"I've been overwhelmed with a desire to ask that whenever I glance across the room and see how serious and professional you look. I'm so proud of you honey, but I still have a hard time believing my girl is a fed now."

"Me too Dad, and being back in Neptune isn't helping."

"You can't go home again?" he asked.

"Something like that," she admitted.

"That's not true," he quickly added. "You can always decide that what you want is to be a PI again and take over Mars Investigations and live with us."

Veronica groaned again. "Dad. That's extremely unlikely. I've wanted out of Neptune for years, and I'm finally gone."

"We just miss you. And I don't just mean the family. I see your friends, they miss you too."

"Speaking of friends, Logan Echolls is back in town," Veronica said, finally getting to what was on her mind the whole time.

"I know," Keith said as they pulled into the driveway of the home he shared with his wife and her son.

The front door opening halted Veronica's desire to grill her dad. That could wait, but not for long. She was dying to know more, and thoughts of Logan were dogging her.

**A/N: Sorry there isn't any actual Logan in this chapter, but he'll be returning in the flesh - not just Veronica's thoughts - very soon.**


End file.
